“Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?”, by Thomas HArdy Mickeyla Finley Mrs. Johnson D7 April 8, 2013

Author’s Biography Thomas Hardy was born June 2, 1840 in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset, England. His father was a self employed mason and building contractor. His mother was a former maidservant and cook. Hardy’s mother taught him how to read before he was four, and implanted an ever-growing love for literature. His father was a dedicated violin player, and passed on a love for music to Thomas. He enjoyed Greek and Roman classics. He also read stories from the Romantic period. His favorite authors were William Harrison Ainsworth, Walter Scott, and Alexander Dumas.

Author’s Biography (cont.) In 1870, he met Emma Lavinia Gifford, who encouraged Hardy to write poetry and fiction. They got married September 17, 1874. Emma died November 27, 1912. He then again got married to Florence Dugdale on February 6, 1914. During WWI, Hardy, who was in his seventies, visited military hospitals and POW camps.

Author’s Biography (cont.) He died January 11, 1928. Hardy had two simultaneous funerals. One funeral, he was cremated and placed in the Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, London, England. The other funeral, was where they buried his heart alongside his first wife, Emma, in Stinsford, Dorchester, England.

Historical Background In 1917, WWI was ending, starting the Russian Revolution. During this time, Russia was removed from war and this brought the transformation of the Russian Empire and Soviet Union.

Summary and Thesis A woman’s dead body is talking from her grave thinking that whoever it is digging at her grave is mourning her when it all, it was only her dog burying its bone. Thomas Hardy uses irony, repetition, personification, and rhyme to create a funny poem about death.

Theme and Tone The theme of the poem is life goes on. People are forgotten after they die. The tone of the poem is humor. Thomas Hardy uses repetitive questions to create this tone. Some examples are “Ah, are you digging up my grave my loved one,” “Then who is digging up my grave? My nearest dearest kin,” and “But some one digs upon my grave? My enemy? – prodding sly?”

Theme and Tone (cont.) Lines such as “my loved one,” “my nearest dearest kin,” and “my enemy” all allude to the theme of the poem. These lines allude to the theme because each time she brought up a new person, in hopes of getting it right, she got it wrong. Those same lines and the fact that she steadily got them wrong also creates the tone.

Figurative Language The poet uses figurative language to make the poem more whimsical. This can catch and keep the reader’s attention. An example throughout the poem is personification. You may not realize this, but you have to remember that the woman is dead and dogs do not talk.

Poetic Devices The poet uses poetic devices to make the poem easier to read. This also keeps the reader’s attention. An example of a poetic device is the rhyme scheme of the poem, which is ABCCCB. The poet uses imagery in the second stanza to create a scene for readers. (“…they sit and think, ‘What use! What good…)

Poem Interpretation In the first stanza, the woman wants to know if her husband (loved one) is coming to show sorrow (planting rue), but her husband remarried. In the second stanza, the woman wanted to know if it was a family member (nearest dearest kin), but it wasn’t. In the third stanza, the woman asks if it was her enemy being mischievous (prodding sly), but once her enemy found out the woman died, the woman was no longer worth her hating.

Poem Interpretation (cont.) The fourth stanza, the woman asks once more, and finds out it was her dog (“O it is I…”) who hopes that what he does on her grave did not disturb her. The fifth stanza, she thinks that her dog was the only one who actually cared to visit her grave (“That one true heart was left behind…”). She thought that her dog was her only best friend. In the last stanza, she finds out that her dog forgot about her too (“…I quite forgot it was your resting place”). He was only there to bury a bone.

Conclusion The use of irony, repetition, personification, and rhyme creates a humorous poem about death. The mood, theme, figurative language, and poetic devices help understand the meaning and readability of this poem by giving off end rhymes, using personification, and setting scenes in the poem to keep the reader’s attention throughout the poem.

Works Cited SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Russian Revolution (1917–1918).” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.